Danny Panter

The Powerless

Re:Verse passage – Luke 8:1-15 (day six)

God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 1 Corinthians 1:27

I imagine the disciples were discouraged. Those they expected to follow Jesus had rejected him, and those they least expected were now following him, like sinful women (Luke 7:37) and government officials. Likely, this was not how they thought the coming Kingdom would go.

Jesus was not surprised; he knew what the Father was doing. That’s what he was telling his disciples.

The proud, wise, and powerful of the world were being snatched up, distracted, and consumed by the cares of the world. It would be the least of these that would sink roots deep and bear fruit.

Come to Me

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day six)

I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. Luke 6:47

Stop for a moment and give these words some thought, “when someone comes to me.” Jesus, the Son of God, creator of the heavens and earth, holy and true, purer than the fiercest fire, God with us, says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden.” Come to me.

Who exactly? Any of us and all of us. Not just squeaky clean, lovely kind of people, but the broken, fractured, disfigured-by-sin kind of people. Jesus is eager to receive all, if we would only come to him.

In our world, the more powerful you become the less accessible you become. Not so with Jesus. His invitation to come to him is the very heart of his mission.

Is your life characterized by coming to him? Have you taken his invitation for granted? I know I do from time to time; maybe even last week. And even still, he says come to me.

How about you?

Seek

Re:Verse passage – Luke 5:33-39 (day six)

⁷“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find… Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”-Jesus, Matthew 7:7-8

Jesus’ parables were an invitation to seek the truth. Far more than illustrations, they were treasure maps meant to lure treasure hunters.

For those listening, patches and wineskins, were a door to be opened to fulfilled promises. To those not listening, or seeking, to those who already had it all figured out, the parables were a pronouncement of judgment.

That’s why Jesus said, “When your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness.” (Matthew 6:23) What we seek shapes our whole life.

Friendship

Re:Verse passage – James 5:19-20 (day six)

There is a kind of friendship where one will go after their friend if they have wandered off the path. This kind of friendship is responsible, careful, and present. There is a gentle strength to it, that you rarely find elsewhere. It is patient, but persistent. Willful but not overbearing. Life-giving rather than draining. Never afraid to say tough things, preferring to whisper when it does; harsh and loud rarely leads anyone back to safety.

This kind of friendship is a rare find indeed, but doesn’t have to be.

Like a gem, it is forged over time, with great intentionality, and God-centering pressure.

Be a good friend.

Faith Isn’t Magic

Re:Verse passage – James 5:12-18 (day six)

Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Jame 5:15

Pastor James is not encouraging some form of believe-ism, name it and claim it religion, or the power of positive confession, as if answered prayer is only limited by our imaginations. Nope, not at all. James has already told us that our prayers aren’t answered because we ask with the wrong motives. No amount of confession or speaking-it-into-existence will change that.

What he does teach, is that we can go to a personal God who is more than able to forgive our sin and heal our sickness (sometimes the two are connected).

We put our faith in God, not our power to think something into existence, as if prayer uttered in “faith” is some form of magical incantation. Praying like that is more akin to witchcraft (control or manipulation of the natural world), than anything resembling the prayers of the faithful.

A Present Help in Time of Need

Re:Verse passage – James 5:7-11 (day six)

⁹Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! James 5:9

When tensions rise we can be tempted to turn on one another. We have the inclination to grumble, complain, gossip, or slander. Pastor James offers a stern warning-God does not approve of that behavior, especially when things get tough.

Why do you suppose? Is it just considered bad behavior, unkind, or immoral?

Or perhaps Pastor James wants us to know that when life gets tough that’s when we need each other most. Replacing grumbling, with words of grace, we discover the faith to have the patience Pastor James prescribes.

Treasure

Re:Verse passage – James 5:1-6 (day six)

Where you treasure is, that’s where the desires of your heart will be. -Jesus, Matthew 6:21

Pastor James’ intent is to teach his readers that Jesus takes our treasure seriously. Our treasure, like an x-ray, gives us the clearest image of our heart. It never lies about our truest desires; what we leverage our time and energy to obtain.

And those desires have real and lasting consequences, literally life and death. Your desires can bring life to others, or bring great harm. They can bear the fruit of righteousness, or eternal death.

So, Pastor James would say, don’t be cavalier with the desires of your heart. Jesus isn’t.

Now

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17

We are planners. We love to forecast what life will be like tomorrow or ten years from now. I don’t think Pastor James is against considering tomorrow, or even planning the launch of a business venture. What he seems to be discouraging is the kind of planning that is foolishly done at the expense of the present. In fact, James teaches us, neglecting what needs to be done in the present, or the things we know we ought to be doing right now is sinful.

All the vision, goal setting, and strategic planning for tomorrow is pointless if we are not faithful to do what ought to be done today.

Jesus would have us live and love in the present, and entrust all our plans for tomorrow to the Lord.

Desire

Re:Verse passage – James 4:1-12 (day six)

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33

…you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. ³And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:2-3

James concludes, we don’t get what we want because we aren’t really all that interested in what God wants. Or said in a different way: the key to fulfilling are heart’s desire is to desire what God desires.

That pretty much sums it up.

Heavenly

Re:Verse passage – James 3:13-18 (day six)

James describes earthly wisdom as unspiritual and demonic. That’s strong language, but he is not just being dramatic to drive the point home. Nor is he suggesting that a demon is behind every unwise decision. For James it is a matter of origin, and in that sense, earthly wisdom is indeed demonic.

Like a spring fed river, earthly wisdom has its source, stretching back all the way to the Garden of Eden. The serpent (a demon) suggested to Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make them wise like God, able to discern between good and evil. They supplanted God, the true source of pure wisdom, with their own. Their wisdom, is our heritage.

In Jesus, we have the opportunity to shirk off our unspiritual heritage, and tap into the true source of all that is good and pure; exchanging the unspiritual for the spiritual, and the earthly for the heavenly.